Agentic Commerce: How AI Is Changing Holiday Shopping
Agentic commerce is shopping in which AI agents research, compare and buy products for consumers.
This holiday season, shoppers are asking AI assistants what to buy, and in Google AI Mode and Gemini, AI agents can complete the purchase with approved retailers.
This hub brings together BrightEdge research, press coverage and webinars on how AI shopping agents find and recommend brands. Retail and ecommerce teams will also find the fixes to make in Google and AI search before Black Friday.
The holiday shopping shift, in numbers
752%
Growth in AI referrals to ecommerce brands, 2025 holiday season
AI referrals are still a small share of traffic, and they are growing fast.
Source: BrightEdge, Nov 18, 2025; cited by Mars
11%
Holiday ChatGPT prompts that cite a page tied to a past year
ChatGPT still cites holiday pages from past years.
Source: BrightEdge AI Hyper Cube, 13,915 prompts, six US retailers, June to August 2026
46%
Growth in US Google searches for ‘AI shopping assistant,’ year over year
More shoppers are searching for AI shopping assistants.
Source: BrightEdge Data Cube X, Oct 2026
Google is still the most important channel. AI answers now shape holiday choices too, so brands need to show up in both.
Marketing leaders have two jobs this holiday season: find where AI changes which brands shoppers consider and protect the Google traffic that drives revenue today.
Both depend on a shared view of visibility, product accuracy and commercial outcomes across SEO, ecommerce and brand teams.
Research, coverage and events on agentic commerce
Updated October 2026The latest research, coverage and events on agentic commerce and AI holiday shopping, updated through the holiday season.
FEATURED NEWS · OCT 16, 2026
The Wall Street Journal: AI Agents Bring New Headaches to Online Sellers
The Wall Street Journal reports BrightEdge data on agent purchases, with Jim Yu on how AI models evaluate them.
AI Is Defining Your Brand Before You Get the Chance To
AI Overviews appeared on 64% of the brand searches BrightEdge tracked. Here is how to find out what they say about you, and who is writing it.
Read the editionParamount Closed Its $110bn Warner Deal. In September, AI Answers Saw Six Brands, Not One.
In September 2026, the month before Paramount closed its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, six of its streaming brands together held about 21% of brand mentions on ChatGPT and Google AI…
Read the editionWhat Changed in Holiday Search Since Last Year, and What to Fix Before Peak
As enterprise brands finalize their peak-season strategies, the e-commerce search landscape is experiencing a massive, AI-driven transition.
Watch On DemandHow to optimize for AI agents
Which AI agents and crawlers reach your site, and how to optimize for each.
Read the guideMars unveils the future of shopping and retail: New research predicts a shopper journey free of chores and full of fun
On October 6, 2026, Mars released research with Kantar and Synthesis, analyzing over 180,000 global data signals to forecast the next decade of shopping. It predicts that AI agents will handle…
Read the articleThis Is the First Agentic Shopping Season
AI agents have started buying on shoppers’ behalf. Here’s what that means for the brands they buy from.This holiday season, AI agents are buying things on our behalf. The numbers are small, but they…
Read the blogHow AI Shopping Agents Choose Brands and How to Prepare
How AI agents discover and recommend products, and what retailers can fix in product data, site access and measurement.
Read the guideHoliday Travel in AI Search: The Travel Brands AI Puts on Its List
Which travel brands lead Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT this holiday season? New BrightEdge research reveals the rankings, the competitive differences and the travel questions where brands appear in…
Read the researchWhat changes when AI agents shop
AI shopping assistants are handling more product research and comparison, and some agents are beginning to complete purchases.
BrightEdge data reported by The Wall Street Journal shows agent-completed purchases have roughly quadrupled since April 2026, growing approximately 43% month over month. Adoption remains early, with about 3% of ecommerce companies in BrightEdge's customer sample enabling agentic transactions.
For retailers, the agent becomes another decision point between the shopper and the brand. Products need to be discoverable, with accurate information AI agents can access and verify.
ShopperAsks an AI assistant what to buy
AI shopping agentAnother decision point between shopper and brand
ResearchCompareComplete purchase
Your brandDiscoverable products with accurate information
~4×agent-completed purchases since April 2026
~43%growth month over month
~3%of ecommerce companies enable agentic transactions
What the BrightEdge holiday data shows
We analyzed 13,915 holiday prompts on ChatGPT across six major US retailers, June to August 2026. Last year’s announcements and dated press releases still draw holiday citations away from current store hubs. Three findings set the fix list for peak.
Finding 1
Last year's pages still answer this year's questions
11% of holiday prompts cite a page tied to a past year, and that figure is a floor. We expected shoppers to name the year when they wanted current deals. Nine of the 10 highest-volume prompts that cite a 2025 holiday announcement name no year at all.
Top 10 prompts citing a 2025 holiday announcement
Name no year (9)Name a year (1)
Finding 2
The newsroom outranks the store
At two of the six retailers, dated press releases take 71.7% and 63.1% of Black Friday citations. Their current store hubs take 10.5% and 13.3%.
Finding 3
One permanent hub holds citations together
At one retailer, a permanent Black Friday hub holds 37.6% of its Black Friday citations on its own and 63.0% with its variants.
Share of Black Friday citations, one retailer
Hub on its ownHub variants
Dated press releases take most Black Friday citations
Share of Black Friday ChatGPT citations at two of six US retailers, June to August 2026
Dated press releasesCurrent store hub
What to fix before Black Friday
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Update the pages AI already cites
Older holiday announcements and newsroom posts keep appearing in AI answers. Find the pages AI engines cite, update the outdated details and link each page to this year’s holiday hub. AI Hyper Cube lists the pages each engine cites, and Content Advisor guides each refresh.
Use
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Make product information accessible to AI agents
AI shopping agents need accurate pricing, availability, shipping and return details. Keep those details consistent across product pages, structured data and merchant feeds. AI Agent Insights shows which agents visit and where they hit errors, and Agent Edge serves verified agents a lightweight version of each page.
Use
-
Measure Google and AI search together
A strong Google ranking does not guarantee a place in AI shopping recommendations. Track rankings alongside AI mentions, citations, agent visits and referral traffic. AI Catalyst tracks AI mentions and citations next to Google performance, so teams measure both in one connected workflow.
Use
Read the complete guide: How AI Shopping Agents Choose Brands and How to Earn the Recommendation
What is agentic commerce?
Agentic commerce is shopping in which AI agents research, compare and, where supported, purchase products on behalf of consumers.
For example, a shopper might ask an AI assistant to "find a waterproof jacket under $200 that arrives by Friday." The assistant compares products, checks availability and recommends options. An AI shopping agent may also prepare a cart or complete checkout with the shopper's authorization.
In search-led ecommerce, shoppers research and compare products themselves. In agentic commerce, AI agents take on more of that discovery and decision-making.
| Compare | Search-led ecommerce | Agentic commerce |
|---|---|---|
| Who searches | The shopper | The shopper and the agent, both drawing on search |
| What gets compared | Pages the shopper opens | Products the agent can read and confirm |
| Who decides | The shopper | The agent recommends, the shopper confirms |
| Where it starts | Search engines and retail sites | Search engines and retail sites, AI Overviews, ChatGPT and agent tools |
See where your brand appears in Google and AI search
BrightEdge measures Google and AI search in one platform. See where you rank, which pages AI engines cite, which holiday prompts mention your brand and which AI agents visit your site.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is agentic commerce?
Agentic commerce is when AI agents research, compare and buy products on a shopper's behalf. The shopper approves each purchase.
What is agentic shopping?
Agentic shopping is the consumer side of agentic commerce. A shopper asks an AI assistant to find or buy something, and the agent does the legwork.
What is agentic checkout?
Agentic checkout lets an AI agent complete a purchase inside the AI experience. The shopper approves the order, and the merchant fulfills it.
Do AI agents complete holiday purchases today?
Yes, in supported shopping experiences. Google offers agentic shopping and checkout features, while ChatGPT supports product discovery and purchasing options for eligible merchants. Depending on the experience, shoppers may complete checkout within the platform or on the retailer's website.
How is an AI shopping agent different from an AI shopping assistant?
An AI shopping assistant helps a shopper decide. An AI shopping agent goes further and takes action, such as building a cart or completing a supported checkout.
How do AI agents decide which products to recommend?
Agents favor products whose details they can read and verify. Fast-loading pages, product facts that match the feed and clear stock and delivery answers all help.
Does SEO still matter for agentic commerce?
Yes. SEO and AEO run as one workflow. Google is still the most important channel, and many AI answers draw on the same signals that drive organic rankings. Google product listings also feed its AI shopping experiences.
What should retailers and brands fix before Black Friday?
Update the pages AI engines already cite, starting with dated newsroom posts. Consolidate each event on one hub URL, put stock, shipping and loyalty answers on product pages and track Google, AI answers and agent visits in one view.
How can brands measure AI shopping visibility?
Brands can track Google rankings, AI citations, brand mentions and AI agent visits alongside referral traffic and conversions. Comparing these metrics helps identify where products are visible across the shopping journey and where improvements are needed.